Mastodawn

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

RT @[email protected]

1. Florida teachers are being told to remove all books from their classroom libraries OR FACE FELONY PROSECUTION

The new policy is based on the premise that teachers are using books to "groom" students or indoctrinate them with leftist ideologies.

🧵

https://popular.info/p/florida-teachers-told-to-remove-books

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/JuddLegum/status/1617518566953349120

Florida teachers told to remove books from classroom libraries or risk felony prosecution

Teachers in Manatee County, Florida, are being told to make their classroom libraries — and any other "unvetted" book — inaccessible to students, or risk felony prosecution. The new policy is part of an effort to comply with new laws and regulations championed by Governor Ron DeSantis (R). It is based on the premise, promoted by right-wing advocacy groups, that teachers and librarians are using books to "groom" students or indoctrinate them with leftist ideologies.

Popular Information

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

UPDATE: On Tuesday evening, the Manatee County School Board discussed this policy for about a hour.

Things are even worse than they appeared.

Follow along if interested.

🧵

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

2. First, Dr. Laurie Breslin, the head of curriculum for the school district, confirmed that all books in classroom libraries must be vetted before they can be made available to students.

She also confirmed the TEACHERS and LIBRARIANS have NO TIME to do this

So what happens?

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

3. The district is recruiting VOLUNTEERS to come into classrooms and review the teachers books.

Who is likely to volunteer? The same right-wing activists who are pushing the idea that teachers are using books to "groom" or indoctrinate students

4. During the meeting, Cindy Spray, a member of the school board who recently won election with the endorsement of @[email protected] and @[email protected], called for a "mass exodus" of books from classroom libraries

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

@[email protected] @[email protected] 5. Spray seized on the use of volunteers to promote her agenda.

She says teachers have used books to "infiltrate" the classroom with ideas that are inappropriate for students.

"Sign up we need to get these books out of these schools"

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

@[email protected] @[email protected] 6. If you were a teacher, would you like Ms Spray's friends to come into your classroom & review every book in your classroom library, having been told by the school district & the Florida Depart of Education that having the wrong book could result in 3rd degree felony charges?

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

@[email protected] @[email protected] 7. Perhaps the most disingenuous part of the meeting is when another DeSantis-endorsed Manatee County school board member, Richard Tatem, suggested that teachers covering up their libraries was just an overreaction

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

@[email protected] @[email protected] 8. This week, teachers in Manatee county received messages from school principals stating: "Remove or cover all classroom libraries until all materials can be reviewed"

The teachers were doing exactly what they were instructed to do!

It was no an overreaction.

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

9. So now teachers in Manatee County are faced with a choice:

1. Keep their classroom libraries inaccessible

2. Turn over all books to unknown (and potentially politically-motivated) "volunteers" for review

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

10. Keep in mind, this is only the start of the process. Any book that isn't already in the library has to be personally reviewed by the librarians and, ultimately, signed off on by the PRINCIPAL

Judd Legum Jan 26, 2023

11. For UPDATES and more accountability journalism, subscribe to Popular Information.

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Smerks1109 Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum Thank you
for staying on this. Signed up for the newsletter. Independent reporting is seemingly all we have right now. Disgusted that FL is now a Taliban state with #desantis telling us what we can and can't do or see. If you don't look like him or believe what he believes your rights are screwed.

Edith Weinstein Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum outrageous!!!!!

[email protected]Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum Those forbidden books are getting interestinger and interestinger. Wait for it: a surge of book-reading among Florida teenagers.

The American Library Association needs to re-up their privacy policies, which have weakened in recent years.

Public libraries now let Amazon collect patron data via Overdrive ebook downloads from public libraries to Amazon (Kindle) and pay companies such as Patron Point (using data-hoovering contractors like Ekata Mastercard White Pages) to verify patrons' IDs, addresses, phone numbers, DOBs.

Harry Callahan Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum 3rd option: move all the books to neighborhood "share a book" stations around the school community and encourage students to enjoy the free amenity.

You might have to replenish occasionally to offset rightwingnut vandalism & theft, but if they resort to banning "share a book," then America is in even worse shape than I thought.

Florida sucks!

#desantis
#Florida
#bookban

Harry Callahan Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum Another option could be to hang a banner over the empty or curtained bookshelf with a list of all of the titles and brief summaries of the collection, with a headline:

"These books have not yet been vetted. They will be available once the Florida government deems them safe for you to read. The books are available for your personal purchase at most digital and print retailers. Sorry for the inconvenience. Vote!"

#desantis
#Florida
#bookban

Will Easton Jan 26, 2023

@HarryCallahan @juddlegum could also add, "The books are also likely available from the Brooklyn Public Library, which offers free digital library cards to anyone ages 13 to 21."

Harry Callahan Jan 26, 2023

@Willeaston @juddlegum Love it!

The Lone Apple 🍎Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum How do publishers feel about this?

William B. Turner Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum. Stop with the unnecessary hyphens. Adverbs never need hyphens.

Natasha Bates Jan 26, 2023

@wbtphdjd @juddlegum
🙄 🥱

Edith Weinstein Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum the teachers should refuse Desantis ‘s order!!!!!!!’n

dmhindle Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum I know that selfishness is the GOP brand, but wouldn't it be better to support pro-student school boards than pro-parent school boards?

ChofuAlum Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum
Teachers need to quit enmasse.

Edith Weinstein Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum ahhh NO!!!

Jeff Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum only propaganda for Americans is Republicans hate for America

Bill Scown Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum Once again "Mom's for Liberty" giving bigotry a bad name

Innocuous In Innisfil Has Moved Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum
You had a good run America....

Jeff Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum only a nazi fears education

ChofuAlum Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum
Any teacher that CHOOSES to remain in Manatee County needs to be blacklisted.

HH Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum Banning books is not liberty. The organization should be called moms4fascism.

William B. Turner Jan 26, 2023

@juddlegum. She's a good Christian. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gop-will-not-govern-william-b-turner/1123731635

The GOP Will not Govern|eBook

The Republican Party as a Party has become a hotbed of elected officials who betray a stunning indifference to the quality of the public policy they pursue, seeing all issues in purely partisan, vaguely ideological terms — "vaguely ideological" because they claim to be "conservative,"...

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